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If there happens to be a better pitcher on the planet right now than Clayton Kershaw I’d like to know who it is?

Okay, Tigers fans are going to scream Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander and Cardinals fans will be bellowing the name of Adam Wainwright.

In a one-game winner-take-all, a Game 7, I’d put my money on Kershaw.

He has been that good for that long.

On Wednesday night, Kershaw gets to toe the rubber at Turner Field to face the Atlanta Braves in the first game of their best-of-five division series.

The odd thing about it is that despite meeting seven times this season, it will mark the first time that Kershaw has faced them in 2013.

That makes it interesting.

If Kershaw beats the Braves on Thursday it will mark the first time he has ever beat them.

That really makes it interesting.

Kershaw has faced the Braves on four occasions, all starts, and ended with four no-decisions. In those starts he has cut a 2.45 ERA allowing eight earned runs and 20 hits over 291/3 innings. He also walked 10.

This season, Kershaw was his usual dominant self. In 33 starts he went 16-9 with a league low 1.83 ERA. He logged 236 innings, allowed just 164 hits and walked a miniscule 52 batters against a league high 232 strikeouts.

Kershaw would seem to match up well against the 2013 Braves.

He is a strikeout pitcher and they are a team that strikes out a lot. In fact the Braves tied for the league high with the New York Mets by whiffing 1,384 times.

What the Braves do, how they ended the season with 96 wins, is that they pitch well — both starters and especially their bullpen — and they hit home runs. In that department they led the NL with 181.

In the post-season, though, I’ll take a top-of-the-line starter over a bunch of sluggers any day.

When asked his thoughts on the Braves lineup on Wednesday, Kershaw was generous.

“As far as their lineup goes, they’ve got depth as far as hitting the long ball,” Kershaw said. “They’ve got a lot of guys that can leave the yard. They’ve got a lot of guys that can do some damage.

“And then, obviously, I think you’ve got to think about Freddie Freeman in the middle there (319, 23, 109). He’s had a great year. For me he’s probably one of the top two or three MVP guys in our league. You’ve got to be aware of him. And Chris Johnson (.321) has been hitting like crazy too. They’ve definitely got some guys that can hit and it should be a fun matchup.”

Fun for Kershaw maybe. Not so many laughs for the Braves.

The month of October is the time when baseball legends are made and starting Wednesday there’s no reason not to believe that Kershaw will be stepping out on that journey.

The Dodgers made the playoffs in his first two seasons but Kershaw had no success. In his rookie season of 2008 he pitched two innings of relief.

The next year he got two starts and is still looking for his first win. His post-season career consists of five appearances, two starts, a 0-1 record and a 5.87 ERA.

He is aware that October is the time that legacies are forged.

“Well, yeah, World Series is why we play the game so obviously winning is a big factor in that,” he said. “And obviously you can’t control your team getting here. You’re either going to be on good teams or you’re not.

“When I look at guys — I always love to watch Andy Pettitte and his post-season success. That’s stuff that you remember. You can’t really control if your team gets there or not to a certain point, but it definitely is fair I would say for a legacy.

“I mean as far as four years ago, yeah I hope I’m better than I was. We’ll find out.”

Indeed we will and here’s betting his legacy starts on Wednesday.

UGGLA WILL SIT

Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez had a lot of ’splaining to do.

In setting his playoff roster for the division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gonzalez had some tough decisions to make and in the end he passed on a number of veterans — topped by second baseman Dan Uggla who just happens to be the Braves highest paid player earning $13 million.

Uggla, however, has been just dreadful at the plate this season hitting — if that’s the right word — .179 in 136 games. When he connected he showed some pop as 35 of his 80 hits went for extra bases — 10 doubles, three triples and 22 home runs. He drove in 55 runs. However, he also struck out 171 times and struck out on his manager’s plans for the division series.

“Well, ultimately, you sit and talk to the coaching staff and we’ve been talking for a while about this ever since we clinched and you try to put the best roster you think is going to fit that five-game series and put your best 25 out there,” Gonzalez said Wednesday in explaining his decision. “Ultimately, without getting into details of this, we feel like we put our best 25 out there.”

With Uggla not on the roster, Elliott Johnson will be starting at second.

Also not making the grade were starter Pat Maholm who was 10-11 with a 4.41 ERA in 26 starts and left-handed reliever Scott Downs, a former Blue Jay. Acquired during the season from the Angels, Downs allowed 19 hits in 14 innings over 25 appearances for the Braves with the opposition hitting him at a .339 clip.